Contemporary hippie at the Rainbow Gathering in Russia, 2005.
By the 1970s, the 1960s zeitgeist that had spawned hippie culture seemed to be on the wane.[72][73][74] The events at Altamont Free Concert[75] shocked many Americans,[76] including those who had strongly identified with hippie culture. Another shock came in the form of the Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca murders committed in August 1969 by Charles Manson and his "family" of followers. Nevertheless, the turbulent political atmosphere that featured the bombing of Cambodia and shootings by National Guardsmen at Jackson State University and Kent State University still brought people together. These shootings inspired the May 1970 song by Quicksilver Messenger Service "What About Me?", where they sang, "You keep adding to my numbers as you shoot my people down", as well as Neil Young's "Ohio", recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Much of hippie style had been integrated into mainstream American society by the early 1970s.[77][78] Large rock concerts that originated with the 1967 KFRC Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival and Monterey Pop Festival and the 1968 Isle of Wight Festival became the norm, evolving into stadium rock in the process. The anti-war movement reached its peak at the 1971 May Day Protests as over 12,000 protesters were arrested in Washington DC. President Nixon himself actually ventured out of the White House and chatted with a group of the 'hippie' protesters. The draft was ended soon thereafter, in 1973. In the mid-1970s, with the end of the draft and the Vietnam War, a renewal of patriotic sentiment associated with the approach of the United States Bicentennial and the emergence of punk in London, Manchester, New York and Los Angeles, the mainstream media lost interest in the hippie counterculture. At the same time there was a revival of the Mod subculture, skinheads, teddy boys and the emergence of new youth cultures, like the goths (an arty offshoot of punk) and football casuals. Acid rock gave way to prog rock, heavy metal, disco, and punk rock.

Starting in the late 1960s, hippies began to come under attack by working-class skinheads.[79][80][81] Hippies were also vilified and sometimes attacked by punks, revivalist mods, greasers, football casuals, Teddy boys, rednecks and members of other youth subcultures of the 1970s and 1980s. The countercultural movement was also under covert assault by J. Edgar Hoover's infamous "Counter Intelligence Program" (COINTELPRO), but in some countries it was other youth groups that were a threat. Hippie ideals had a marked influence on anarcho-punk and some post-punk youth subcultures, especially during the Second Summer of Love.

Couple attending Snoqualmie Moondance Festival, Aug. 1993
Hippie communes, where members tried to live the ideals of the hippie movement continued to flourish. On the west coast, Oregon had quite a few.[82] Some faded away. Some are still around.

While many hippies made a long-term commitment to the lifestyle, some people argue that hippies "sold out" during the 1980s and became part of the materialist, consumer culture.[83][84] Although not as visible as it once was, hippie culture has never died out completely: hippies and neo-hippies can still be found on college campuses, on communes, and at gatherings and festivals. Many embrace the hippie values of peace, love, and community, and hippies may still be found in bohemian enclaves around the world.[22]

Towards the end of the 20th century, a trend of "cyber hippies" emerged, that embraced some of the qualities of the 1960s psychedelic counterculture.[85]"

What the heck is a hippie? Bluering, you seem to classify anyone who didn't work and leached off the system as a hippie, but I classify that person as a bum. I knew many people I would call a hippie who started businesses and did great.

So what the heck is a hippie?

Brandon seems to say that they are preachy..

to me some were adamant about their lifestyles and were preachy. But most weren't.
Just like nearly every other classification of lifestyle.

Me.. I was a drug addict/square/wannabe hippie/ young man who wanted and got some of that "free love" but also made pretty good money and always paid my own way and had long hair.

Prototype of a male hippie. Considered a beatnik, but was hip (underwent some minor changes after Timothy Leary made his contribution). The hippie was just another aside along the great divide of humanity.

George Simmel missed his chance to make his greatest study by 50 years.